The inaugural AFMASS FoodTech Tanzania edition will catalyse the fast-growing food, beverage and milling in the country for many years to come, according to the attendees at recently held conference and exhibition.
Held at the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam Serena on March 29-30, 2019, AFMASS FoodTech Tanzania brought together about 500 investors and managers from the food and beverage industry.
More than delegates and visitors from more than 30 countries around the world attended Tanzania’s first substantive food, beverage and milling industry trade event.
The conference sessions at the event covered a number of areas, including investment opportunities in Tanzania’s food, beverage and milling industry, processing and automation technologies, food safety and nutrition and health; while a number of suppliers from Africa, Europe and Asia participated at the Expo Hall.
The event has been described by the attendees as a ‘breakthrough’ event due to its unique blend of people, industry solutions providers and the unique insights generated at the conference sessions.
It was officially opened by Obey Assery, the Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture, Tanzania.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager of Camel Flour Mills, one of the new entrants into Tanzania’s milling sector, Ismail Said Albahry, said that the event will catalyse the growth of the industry in Tanzania to greater heights, adding that the network of industry colleagues and suppliers made the event a must-attend event for all in the food and agribusiness stakeholders in Tanzania.
He urged for the inclusion of more Government regulators and policy makers so that solutions to the issues facing the industry in the country can be tackled and also to share ideas with them on solutions and way forward.
Adams Gamba, Technical Manager at Tanga Fresh, the leading dairy operator, described the event as vital to the future of the industry in Tanzania, adding that he sees a strong representation of stakeholders in the next event, due to the unique insights the event provides.
He urged that the organisers to engage more with other stakeholders at the planning stage of the next event, which he sees is critical to the development of the dairy industry in the country, where the demand for dairy products is rising significantly.
Unique investment opportunities in Tanzania
The event began on a high note with discussions on investment opportunities in Tanzania’s manufacturing, retail and HORECA industry.
The panel discussion was made up of industry leaders including Ismail Said Albahry -General Manager Camel Flour Mills; Hassan Swedi – Project Manager Business Development Unit, Asas Dairies; Sufian Kyarua – Secretary General, Tanzania Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (TAFMA);Griffin Murray – Director, East Africa, Black Ivy Group; Jackline Kittony – Marketing Director, Tetra Pak and Francis Mbaki – Area Sales Manager, Buhler.
With new investments in milling plants, dairy factories and beverage factory extensions, among others, the panelists agreed that the pace of investments has picked up in Tanzania in the last few years, but with huge investment opportunities still untapped, considering the country’s rising population and urbanisation, some of the highest in Africa.
They however, urged for a more predictable policy environment in Tanzania, which has hampered the entry of even more investments in the country, adding that with a more predictable environment, Tanzania stands to gain more investments to take advantage of vast agricultural potential of the country and its unique position in Eastern Africa.
Ease regulatory burden
At the food safety and regulatory session, the industry leaders from AB-InBev, Nestle and Coca-Cola sought the support of the Government to streamline regulatory processes and procedures to unlock the huge opportunities for small, medium and big corporates to innovate with speed and to deliver world-class food products for both local and international markets.
This year’s AFMASS FoodTech Tanzania was sponsored by processing and packaging solutions provider Tetra Pak, Endress + Hauser, the leading process automation supplier and Buhler, the processing technology provider.
Other companies that showcased their technologies at the exhibition hall included AGI Frame, Promaco, Resulta Engineering, Decase Chemicals, Sensient technologies and Nibro BV, with most of them showcasing their solutions in Tanzania for the first time.
Other partners included GAIN Tanzania, Tanzania Dairy Board, Asas Dairies and Amor Coco.
Following the overwhelming response from the stakeholders, the event is slated for November 2020 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Other upcoming AFMASS Conferences and Expos include AFMASS Eastern Africa edition that is slated for May 16-18, 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya and AFMASS FoodTech Rwanda edition that takes place July 11-12, 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda.
More information about AFMASS events can be found at www.afmass.com
